Menu

Tag Archive | Dilentatte

You see, being a dilettante won’t take you far in your endeavor, but the reality is that you must start from somewhere. Of course, as an amateur. No one is born a professional, but that doesn’t mean one should be stuck in an “amateur-land.” There’s a difference between vocation and avocation. And do you know who understands this better? This guy, Muhammed Tosin Abdullahi, understands it and lives the life of a pro. I’m always in awe how he runs his blog and how he responds to his email even though you approach him informally like I always do. 🙂

Before someone asks me in the comments, “what’s the difference between vocation and avocation?” Let me boil it down here: vocation is more of a calling, passion turned into fortune (income) while taking it as a profession and avocation is a hobby that you might quit if criticized once.

You see the difference? If not, let me cite Steven Pressfield’s take on this in his book The War of Art: “The amateur plays for fun. The professional plays for keeps. To the amateur, the game is his avocation. To the pro it’s his vocation. The amateur plays part-time, the professional full-time. The amateur is a weekend warrior. The professional is there seven days a week …The professional loves it so much he dedicates his life to it. He commits full-time.”

Which one are you? A professional or an amateur? If you’re the former, congrats and keep it up, but if you’re the latter, all hope is not lost. You can still become one by deciding now. Your task: Show up every day.